Lots of Tigers On the Move in the Rule 5

Paul Wezner

12/06/2007

The Tigers lost three players in the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday afternoon, and also added a pair, though neither were in the big league part of the draft.

The only action involving the Tigers in the big league portion of the Rule 5 Draft was the Tigers losing a player. 23-year old Randor Bierd, who pitched for A-West Michigan and AA-Erie last year, was selected by the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles will have to keep Bierd on their 25-man roster for the entirety of the season, or will have to return him to the Tigers.

Hamman bounced back and forth between AAA-Toledo and AA-Erie. Between the two levels, he posted a 1-9 record with a 4.84 ERA.

Fragoso also split time between short-season-A-Oneonta and A-West Michigan, compiling a 2-6 record with a 4.69 ERA.

Not to walk away completely empty-handed, the Tigers selected two pitchers back in the Triple-A portion; lefty Juan Cedeno from the Nationals and righty Benjamin Fritz from Oakland.

Cedeno struggled last year for AA-Wichita in the Texas League - posting a 6.33 ERA in 35 appearances. However, he's shown some promise in the Dominican Winter League, with a 2.84 ERA over six games. His average against is also over 100 points lower in the Dominican (.208) than it was for Wichtia (.312).

Much like Cedeno, Fritz had his share of struggles in the Texas League, posting an 11-11 record, though with a 5.67 ERA for Midland. Again, like Cedeno, he's had more success so far in the Venezuelan Winter League.